They say that family can be a source of love and support, but sometimes, the relationship with a mother-in-law can become strained. In this collection of stories, fed-up people share the despicable thing their mother-in-law did, highlighting the challenges and conflicts that can arise within these complex family dynamics.
From manipulative behavior to boundary-crossing actions, these tales shed light on the darker side of the mother-in-law relationship. Each story presents a unique instance where the mother-in-law’s actions left a lasting impact, pushing the boundaries of respect and decency.
These stories serve as a reminder that not all mother-in-law relationships are smooth sailing. They explore the complexities and emotions that can arise when personal boundaries are disregarded or when clashes in values and expectations occur.
So sit back, and listen to these accounts of frustration and disappointment. While not all mother-in-law relationships are contentious, these stories provide an opportunity for empathy and understanding, reminding us of the importance of healthy boundaries and mutual respect within the family unit.
All content has been edited for clarity.
Yeah That’s Trespassing
“When I was married to my ex, we had different work hours. I got up every morning at 4 am to get ready and go to work, while my ex got up at 6 am to go to work.
So one day, I was at work, doing my job and my cell phone rang. I saw it was my mother-in-law, so I was worried it might be important. The only other time she called me at work was to tell me my father-in-law was on his way to the hospital because he had a heart attack. So I answered and she immediately started in on me about the breakfast dishes that were in the sink. I could hear her footsteps, she was walking through my house!
Before I could think of what to say, (since I was at work and there were customers around) she then said, in a disgusted voice, ‘Why don’t you ever make your bed!”
I was so so so mad. I decided my customers might get a kick out of this situation. I put my phone on speaker and I said, ‘Sorry, you are breaking up, what did you say?’
She proceeds to repeat herself. My customers are regulars, they are country folk and they do not take crap from anyone. So anyway. I asked her how would she know if I didn’t make my bed. Did my husband complain to her? She replied no.
At this point, she realized she just busted herself. I calmly told her to leave my house and put the spare key on the kitchen counter. Then I asked her if she had ever tried to make a bed with a full-grown man sprawled in it. Silence.
I told her to never set foot in my home again unless she was invited and an adult was there. My kids were between 10 and 15 at that time.
I later learned that she had come over multiple times before while nobody was home. My neighbors knew who she was, and assumed she was there for a good reason. Nope.”
That Took A Very Wholesome Turn
“When I left my first husband, I was very pregnant and he was physically abusive. I moved across the US to be safe with my parents while I sorted my life out.
My Mother-in-Law sent me a letter full of frustration and hurt, telling me what a bad wife and bad person I had been. It was very upsetting to read, and it was clear she did not know of her son’s violent behavior and alcoholism.
She called me a few hours after I got the letter. She told me she had sent it and begged me to tear it up and burn it rather than read it. Too late. But she admitted she had written it from a place of grief. She feared she would never meet her first grandchild or be part of its life.
We made our peace that day, with the understanding we would try to be friends one-to-one, and not speak of her son again. We exchanged letters and visits over the years, and she was a loving(though distant) grandma. To her credit, she treated my second child through another marriage with the same nurturing sweetness as she did my first.”
That’s Just Blatant Disrespect
“My in-laws ruined our first Christmas with our new baby son. We invited them against my better judgment, as they had been behaving very poorly towards both me and the baby, and boy were we about to find out why.
We had also invited my parents and my auntie and uncle, and it started off nicely enough. However, towards the end of the afternoon, they started talking about my husband’s older brother (who is their favorite, even though they deny it).
They told a story that made it sound like the older brother was beating up his girlfriend (which was categorically untrue), and that they were proud of him for doing so! This horrified my relatives, but they prattled on, oblivious. Then they started talking about the older brother’s children. He has two girls, one was three and the other was three months old. The youngest is six months younger than my son.
I will never forget my mother-in-law’s next words, ‘I wanted (older brother’s youngest girl) to be a boy because then I would finally have a grandson!’ Then she said it was a shame the older brother wasn’t trying for any more children.
My husband is not adopted, or the product of another marriage. My son is not adopted, and we made a point of letting them see him whenever they liked, even though they were rude and horrible to me and not particularly kind to my husband and son. They lost my respect that day and any privileges that they had as grandparents. After a whole year, we are only just at the point where we can be civil to each other. But I don’t think I will ever forgive my mother-in-law for what she said.”
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree
“Once I got a cheap ornament of a bear that my ex-mother-in-law had ‘wrapped’ in newspaper with no tape. It looked like she had literally grabbed a piece of newspaper and thrown the cheap bear in and rolled it around and twisted the ends of the paper.
Long story short.
My ex (her son) and I were getting divorced and he got so drunk that he ran into a tree and broke many bones and knocked out a lot of teeth. He also got a DUI and was cuffed to the hospital bed. Of course, she found a way to blame me.
It’s important to add that he was an alcoholic and drug addict and had abused me emotionally and had many affairs when we were engaged and then married.
So on Christmas Day, I took our sons over to their house so they could spend time with him and their grandma. We started opening presents and his mom walks over to me and throws this piece of crap used ornament at me (yes she threw it hard) while giving me the nastiest look I’ve ever seen.
Then she tells our sons that he is coming home with us so mom and dad could make up! Some of his cousins loaded him into my car before I could say a word. I had to help him to the bed (I was 5′2 and 105 lbs. and he was 5′10 at 225 lbs) and I was furious at them for getting my boys’ hopes up when everyone knew we were getting divorced.
So yeah, I wanted to scream at them but that’s something I would never ever do in front of my kids. I slept on the couch and when my babies were asleep I took the bear outside and hammered it into little pieces. I wrapped the pieces in newspaper, twisted the edges, and saved it for the next day.
My good friend was a tall strong guy so he came over that day and helped me load him in my car. I took him back to his mother’s house and after his family helped him back in I handed the ‘present’ to her.
She knew what it was and she turned bright red with anger. I waved, smiled, waved goodbye, and said, ‘Merry Christmas!’
I have to admit, that felt good, really good.”
She Really Didn’t Want That Wedding To Go Well
“My ex-MIL tried to control/destroy my wedding. As some background, her son, age 26, still lived at home because he had just entered into sales and hadn’t made any commissions yet. I had graduated college and gotten a job in my career so I was paying for our wedding. Neither set of parents had any money. I budgeted very carefully. We decided to have the wedding at his church and the reception in their hall. Early afternoon ceremony with only a cake and punch reception. Minimal decorations and a classical guitar duo for entertainment. Here is what she did:
- called the bakery and cut my cake order in half.
- canceled the use of the kitchen at the reception hall, even though we needed it to make punch, refill mint trays, collect dirty plates, etc
- called the priest and changed our vows
- tried to change the music choices for the ceremony
- ordered little scrolls with poems on them to hand out thanking the guest and then sent me to pick them up and I had to pay for them
- day of the ceremony she decided the classical guitars were not enough so she loaded up her record player and all her old albums to play at the reception
- didn’t like our decorations so also loaded up all her house plants to decorate the reception hall
- Didn’t like that we weren’t serving food so ordered hundreds of dollars of chicken nuggets from a fast food chain for our reception
- interrupted our rehearsal and demanded we change the prayers and readings we had picked
She did not succeed in any of these things and my fiancé stood strong against her or there would not have been a wedding. She did a lot more but these are the highlights and what I remember.”
Safe To Say Her Ex Had Some Mom Issues
“My ex-mother-in-law did everything possible to break us up, even setting him up with another girl when he visited. They lived hours away and I was not allowed to stay in their house. She locked my 4-year-old daughter in her basement while babysitting and turned out the lights.
This woman was evil and proclaimed me to be possessed by Satan because I wasn’t as Christian as she.
I left, not just because of her horrible acts, but because my otherwise sweet husband refused to defend me. He was always in the middle, just where she wanted him. It was a sad 7 years.”